It was produced again in
March, when Beethoven conducted it, together with the Egmont Overture,
at the annual concert for the Theatre-Armenfonds. The symphony soon
found its way to England and enjoyed great popularity there from its
connection with Wellington. It frequently appeared on the programmes
under the name of Wellington's Victory.
The general esteem in which Beethoven was held by the Viennese led to a
demand for another hearing of Fidelio, which had been out of sight and
mind for eight years. The libretto was again worked over (this time by
Treitschke), and submitted to Beethoven. The revised form seems to have
pleased him at once, although very important changes were made which
imposed on him a herculean task. New music had to be written for certain
portions, and the whole rearranged and adapted to the new conditions.
Everything was going Beethoven's way in these years, which may explain
his good-natured acquiescence in these demands. "Your revision suits me
so well," he wrote Treitschke, "that I have decided once more to rebuild
the desolate ruins of an ancient fortress.
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